Seattle Sounders vs Sporting Kansas City Prediction: Seattle Sounders will concede

Considering the teams' positions in the Western Conference, the MLS match to be played on September 16, 2024, between Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City will be quite an important encounter for both teams. While the Seattle Sounders sit 5th, fighting to earn a better playoff position, Sporting Kansas City is 12th with slim hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. The dynamics are totally different when it comes to the current seasonal form of both sides, which promises an interesting match. The Sounders come into Seattle fresh off of a dominating victory, while SKC is unbeaten in their last three.

Seattle Sounders have come off a dominant 4-0 away win against Columbus, a match in which Albert Rusnak was the star with a hat-trick. That result was a much-needed boost for Seattle, who had previously experienced a dip in form with three losses out of five.

Seattle has been in an inconsistent form of late, but the emphatic win against Columbus showed what they are capable of. Their shape in a 4-2-3-1 offers them a great balance between defensive stability and offensive threat. Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnak form key figures in the attack, with the latter's hat-trick showing his power to change single-handed games. For all this, Seattle has struggled defensively, conceding in four straight matches before their last clean sheet. Their ability to sustain possession and forge goalbound chances depends on the ability to check the other big weakness: a tendency to give away poor goals. Seattle is very good at home, but its penchant for leaking goals-often just via transition-must be addressed.

Seattle's 4-2-3-1 is centered around João Paulo and Albert Rusnak, who work together to control the midfield; a high percentage of possession will likely come through them, creating width and opportunities from the flank. Seattle will more than likely press high up the pitch and take advantage of any giveaways by opponents in their defensive third. Defensively, the Sounders will be compact to avoid being hit on the counter, where KC is very dangerous.

Meanwhile, Sporting Kansas City played a 1-1 draw with New York Red Bulls in trying to extend the unbeaten run for a third straight match with two wins and a draw.

SKC have been erratic this season, with 14 losses keeping them way down the ladder in the Western Conference standings. However, they managed to extend their recent unbeaten streak with a 1-1 away draw at New York Red Bulls. Alan Pulido is their main attacking threat, with him scoring consistently in recent games. Like Seattle, Kansas City deploys a 4-2-3-1 formation, and whereas compact defensively, they really struggle to control possession while relying on quick counter-attacks. The strength in Kansas City lies within their solid defensive duels, as evidenced by the great 69% tackle success rate against New York Red Bulls. However, the low shot count on target and reliance on Pulido for goals may insinuate that they will struggle offensively against a resilient Seattle side.

Kansas City will likely be more reactive: sitting deep, looking to break on the counter. Pulido will again be key to their chances, playing off the last defender and exploiting any gaps left by Seattle's pressing. If they could only manage a single shot on target in their last match, that attacking efficiency will have to improve if they harbor any hopes of leaving Seattle with something. They will focus on disrupting the build-up of Seattle and make use of set pieces effectively.

Historically, Sporting Kansas City has had the better of this fixture, with their last 20 matches against Seattle seeing them come out on top 11 times, but Seattle will be keen to use home-field advantage as they jockey for positioning in the higher playoff spots.

With recent form and composition taken into consideration, Seattle Sounders will be fancied for this game, especially now that they seem to have picked up after the comprehensive win against Columbus. However, Kansas City's unbeaten run of three games and ability to frustrate teams on the road means they cannot be discounted.

With both teams conceding regularly, both teams finding the net is very likely. Seattle's defense has been leaky, and Kansas City's counter-attacking play might just exploit that, while Seattle's potent attack is expected to score.

Historical data supports this, too, as nine of the last 10 meetings have seen over 2.5 goals, while both teams have vulnerabilities in the back, and the theme of high-scoring games is more than plausible here.

• More than 2.5 Goals @ 1.71 Odds
• Both Teams to Score @ 1.74 Odds
• Seattle Sounders Win 2-1 @ 8.50 Odds